Cambria Chorale to perform 25th anniversary spring concert

The Cambria Chorale will give two performances of this year's spring concert, scheduled for May 3 and 10 at Cambria Presbyterian Church on Yorkshire Drive.

The Cambria Chorale will give two performances of this year's spring concert, scheduled for May 3 and 10 at Cambria Presbyterian Church on Yorkshire Drive.

The Cambria Chorale will celebrate its 25th anniversary with the first of two spring concert performances of “We Got Rhythm” on Sunday, May 3. Director Barbara Weber has chosen a potpourri of rousing rhythms from what some call the golden age of music. Among the selections: “I’ve Got the World on a String,” “I Got Rhythm,” “Our Love is Here to Stay,” “All of Me” and “Ain’t Misbehavin’.”

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Richard and Glenn Stokes sponsored a sing-along for five years at the Pewter Plough Playhouse. Everyone had so much fun that the Cambria Chorale was born in 1990, bringing a new voice to the community. Larry Larsen, a USC music major graduate, was its first director.

Jim Fitzgerald, a former music teacher and chorale director, led the group for six years.

Ruth Fleming, a music/art major and professional opera singer in Southern California, directed for seven years and remains a member of the group. Michael Bierbaum, directed for two years.

The chorale’s current director, Barbara Weber, has a long history of conducting chorale music. She has challenged the group to stretch and grow with more complex musical pieces. Four of the original members are still singing with the chorale: Ann Glaser, Lyn Baker, Helen Alinder and John Angel.

Evolution

Over the years, the chorale has evolved into a more ambitious group that sings for multiple occasions:

Hospitality Night, patriotic celebrations on Memorial and Veterans Days and for the Presbyterian Women and Cambria Lions groups. The singers entertain twice a year at Casa de Flores and Bayside, transitional and residential care facilities in Morro Bay. In recent years, instrumentalists have been added to enhance and enrich the chorale’s musical presentations.

The chorale is not only for those who love to sing and entertain, but to ensure the future of music as part of the community. Money raised through concerts and private donations funds the Cambria Youth Music Fund. This provides lessons for students who show talent in vocal or instrumental music and who need financial assistance to continue their training.

The chorale supports 26 students this year.

If you go

What: Cambria Community Chorale 25th anniversary spring concert

When: 3 p.m. on consecutive Sundays, May 3 and May 10

Where: Cambria Presbyterian Church, 2250 Yorkshire Drive

Tickets: $16. Available at Chamber of Commerce, Joslyn Center and at the door